Return to the Castle

Back in the hall, Abel explained the entire incident to the Knight Marshall in detail and presented the parchment map.

The Knight Marshall took the map and examined it carefully for a while. He could understand some of the orcish writing. Based on the map, he could roughly guess its contents.

"This is incredibly important, Abel. With this map, we can intercept the orcs who have entered the human world." The Knight Marshall paced back and forth in the room, holding the map and carefully considering how to maximize its value.

"The orcs appearing this time are likely not low-level. Although I don't know how many there are, the wolf riders I encountered were all level six or higher. Our castle doesn't have enough manpower to intercept them," Abel said with some concern.

"Of course, it won't be our castle doing the intercepting. I will hand the map over to the Lord. If this interception is successful and enough orcs are killed, you'll be granted a noble title," the Knight Marshall said excitedly. Then, remembering Abel's recent adventure, he added, "You absolutely cannot go out alone during this period. If you must go out, you need to bring a squad of guards."

"Don't mention the direwolf to anyone for now. I'll have everyone in the castle who knows about this keep it a secret," the Knight Marshall sighed. "A mount of this level, even though it has recognized its master, I'm afraid some people might not be content and will try to snatch it back."

"I'll listen to you," Abel said. He knew the Knight Marshall had more authority regarding the character of nobles than he did. In any case, Black Wind was still young, and it would be a few years until it matured. In a few more years, when he was strong enough, who would dare to forcibly take his things? In fact, this was also due to the Knight Marshall and Abel's insufficient understanding of the Blacksmith Guild. If Master Bentham were present, he would tell them the price one would pay in this human world, and even on this continent, for daring to forcibly take something from a master blacksmith.

"Do you still have those large beast traps?" The Knight Marshall was very curious about traps that could harm wolf riders, as he knew how terrifying they were.

"No, I used all ten of them in the forest behind the castle, but I marked them. I'll go collect them tomorrow," Abel replied. He hadn't expected the Knight Marshall to be interested in the large beast traps.

"Can other blacksmiths replicate them?" the Knight Marshall asked, concerned.

"It's very difficult to replicate. I used a special method to forge one of the parts," Abel said. He was now very clear about the blacksmithing level in this world. The steel used for the springs was a special kind of steel. It required a large amount of carbonization to reduce the steel's strength while ensuring its elasticity. Apart from dwarf masters, no one in the human world could probably make it.

"Can you mass-produce them? I think if the castle were equipped with these large beast traps, it would enhance the castle's defensive capabilities."

"Yes, I just need to make the critical components. The blacksmiths in the blacksmith shop have already made the other parts," Abel explained.

"Make some of the critical components when you have time and equip the castle with large beast traps as soon as possible," the Knight Marshall urged impatiently. He then added, "Tell the scouts the markings tomorrow, and you don't need to go yourself. The blacksmith shop has also been moved into the castle these past few days. You should stay in the castle tomorrow and not go out."

That evening, back in his room, the steward Linsey brought him heated goat milk. For convenience in feeding Black Wind, Abel found a piece of sand rat skin.

Sand rats were similar to Earth's mice. Their skin was very fine and soft, often used to make small items. Abel called for a maid and explained his idea. Soon, the maid brought back the finished product: a not-so-pretty but very practical bottle with a built-in nipple.

When the nipple was placed near Black Wind's mouth, the hungry direwolf bit the nipple with its still-undeveloped small teeth and sucked greedily on the goat milk, its small face filled with satisfaction.

On Earth, Abel had never raised a pet and didn't know what it felt like. But now, he finally understood the feelings of those who treated their pets like their own children. Abel felt the same way now.

That night, the Knight Marshall sent someone to the Lord's Mansion to deliver the parchment map to Viscount Dickens. To gain Viscount Dickens's trust, the werewolf's corpse was also handed over. This was originally something the Knight Marshall should have delivered himself, but he had to remain at the castle under the current circumstances.

The next day, after Abel woke up, he found the temporary blacksmith shop in the place of the former warehouse behind the castle.

Abel found Master Bentham and asked him to help make the Hundred Refinements Blanks. He also gathered all the blacksmiths, with the more experienced ones guiding the others in making the other parts. The entire blacksmith shop became busy.

Abel was already very skilled at making the thick compression springs used for the large beast traps. He made fifteen per day for three consecutive days. The progress of the other blacksmiths was also not slow. After three days, all the parts were complete, and under Abel's guidance, the large beast traps were assembled.

The finished large beast traps were made of black steel throughout. The serrations on the clamping plates gleamed coldly. To ensure better effectiveness, Master Bentham personally sharpened all these serrations. Once these serrations clamped onto a prey's body, they would cause immense damage.

The ten large beast traps that Abel had set in the forest were also retrieved one by one by experienced scouts using Abel's markings.

After the large beast traps were made, the Knight Marshall tested the new, improved model. He placed a section of tree trunk on the trigger. The serrations, which had been sharpened, deeply cut into the tree trunk. If this had been the leg of a werewolf's direwolf mount, the result would have been a direwolf losing its mobility. The Knight Marshall was very satisfied with these large beast traps.

In fact, if multiple orc squads hadn't been acting together, the orc squads wouldn't have attacked the castle. The castle's high walls were not conducive to their cavalry's effectiveness, and a forced attack would only result in heavy casualties. Even level six or seven wolf riders couldn't breach the high walls, and the orcs' technological level was insufficient to manufacture sophisticated siege equipment. The castle's design itself was for defense against such small-scale battles.

Orc squads usually targeted villages without high walls, where they could achieve their goals more easily and without incurring casualties.

The deployment of large beast traps was merely to reinforce the castle's defensive blind spots. All residents of the territory were gathered within the castle. The Knight Marshall, with a sense of absolute security, deployed the large beast traps in the forest behind the castle. About thirty meters outside the castle walls, there were tall trees that blocked the line of sight. Furthermore, if the orcs wanted to attack the castle, these trees would be necessary siege materials. Deploying large beast traps there would prevent the orcs from easily making siege equipment and would also alert the castle guards to an approaching enemy.

Finally, having finished these tasks, Abel finally had the chance to calmly consider the previous battle.

All along, Abel believed his strength was sufficient for self-preservation. However, the battle with the werewolf made him realize the gap between himself and official professionals. There was only one level difference between a level five apprentice knight and an official professional, but due to the use of Battle Qi, the terrifying Battle Qi bonus of official professionals was almost a complete crushing of apprentice professionals.

Facing the injured werewolf, Abel had almost no ability to resist. In terms of speed, the werewolf, even with its leg injury, was faster than him. If he hadn't been a bit lucky, the outcome of that battle would have been hard to say.

Beginner official professionals could circulate Battle Qi throughout their entire body to enhance their strength, while intermediate professionals could load Battle Qi onto their weapons. It was like the Knight Marshall's battle outside Harvest City last time; the glowing greatsword was the result of loading Battle Qi onto the greatsword. After loading Battle Qi, the weapon would become sharper, and the strength enhancement would also be greater than at the beginner level, reaching 100%.

From advanced professionals onwards, the Battle Qi loaded into weapons could be detached for mid-range attacks. At this stage, professionals could almost suppress an army of hundreds on the battlefield.